Education
We partner with schools, colleges, and universities to design engaging, flexible, and resilient learning environments, drawing on our global research and multidisciplinary expertise to shape experiences that empower all students.
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More campuses need spaces that have the ability to bend and flex — where anything can happen. In two or three years, a program might shift, and something different may want to be taught in that space.
—Mark Thaler, Education leader
27 Items
The Crossing at University of Kansas Master Plan
Lawrence, Kansas
Gensler’s master plan for the University of Kansas’ The Crossing blends academic facilities, housing, and retail into a lively destination that will attract new companies and talent.
Purdue University Mitch Daniels School of Business
West Lafayette, Indiana
Purdue University partnered with Gensler to envision a new building for the Mitch Daniels School of Business that supports future business leaders.
CSULB Hillside Gateway
Long Beach, California
CSULB Hillside Gateway is a game-changer for sustainable campuses. The project generates more energy than it uses, conserves water, and fosters student engagement and well-being. It is a benchmark for sustainable campus development.
Wichita State University Campus Master Plan
Wichita, Kansas
Gensler’s master plan unites Wichita State University’s historic campus and innovation campus, creating a vibrant hub for learning, collaboration, and community.
Jewish Leadership Academy
Miami, Florida
The Jewish Leadership Academy is a new, Modern Orthodox middle and upper school in Miami designed from the ground up by Gensler.
Western Oregon University Student Success Center
Monmouth, Oregon
Western Oregon University Student Success Center plays a key role in addressing WOU’s goal of improving student services with a focus on underserved students.
Qingdao Rehabilitation University
Qingdao, China
The University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences campus integrates technological innovation, talent training, health and wellness development, and services.
UT Tyler School of Medicine
Tyler, Texas
The UT Tyler School of Medicine is spearheading a transformative approach to rural healthcare with the design of a cutting-edge medical educational building.
Kent State University, School of Fashion
Kent, Ohio
Gensler’s transformational renovation of Kent State University's School of Fashion supports an ecosystem of socially responsible fashion thinkers.
Del Mar College Oso Creek Campus
Corpus Christi, Texas
Del Mar College Oso Creek Campus prioritizes communal spaces to foster a welcoming atmosphere and flexible classrooms to support diverse learning formats.
Roots to Success
Washington, D.C.
Roots to Success is a pro bono initiative that connects students at Kelly Miller Middle School in D.C. with fresh produce and sustainable food education.
Wichita State University Barton School of Business
Wichita, Kansas
The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University provides a flexible and collaborative faculty workplace for departments and administration.
West Virginia University Reynolds Hall, John Chambers College of Business and Economics
Morgantown, West Virginia
The goal of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics was to help WVU write its next chapter in business education in a new home, while transforming the campus, Morgantown community, and student experience.
The Engine at MIT
Cambridge, Massachusettes
Located in a redesigned 100-year-old building, the Engine at MIT is a sciences ecosystem that fosters community connection and drives scientific innovation.
UCR Student Success Center
Riverside, California
The Student Success Center at the University of California, Riverside offers a new, tech-infused hub with classrooms, study spaces, and social settings.
CSULB Parkside North Residence Hall and Housing Administration Building
Long Beach, California
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) enlisted Gensler to help reach the university’s goal of achieving net-zero status by 2030.
Western Kentucky University Commons at Helm Library
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Fulfilling a desire to create a new destination for students, faculty, and the campus community, the Commons at Helm Library is a new intellectual hub at...
Blinn College RELLIS Campus Administration Building
Bryan, Texas
Gensler designed a new student building meant to create synergies and invite Blinn College students to actively engage in the RELLIS Campus experience.
Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management
Beijing, China
Gensler’s design of the Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management campus building celebrates connectivity and serendipitous interactions through walkways, greenery, and landscaped spaces.
Tarrant County College Northwest Campus
Fort Worth, Texas
Tarrant County College District is partnering with Gensler to redefine the student experience and showcase a 21st-century learning environment designed to align with the institution’s mission.
Southwestern College Student Union
Chula Vista, California
The Southwestern College (SWC) Student Union will become the heart of the school campus and provide students and faculty with a new space to engage, interact, and socialize.
Friendship Foundation Campus
Redondo Beach, California
Gensler’s Andy Cohen describes how the Friendship Foundation will transform the lives of people with special needs, their families, volunteers, and society.
WPI Unity Hall
Worcester, Massachusetts
Unity Hall is an academic research building, designed by Gensler, that focuses on computational-based technologies including robotics, data science, bioinformatics, and computational biology.
Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Heights Branch
Brooklyn, New York
Gensler’s redesign of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Heights Branch, the largest branch in Brooklyn, represents a welcoming change for the neighborhood landmark.
Chapter 510 – Swan’s Market
Oakland, California
Chapter 510 turned to Gensler again to design its new Writing Center located in downtown Oakland’s Swan’s Market.
Wake Tech Community College Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence
Raleigh, North Carolina
The Wake Tech Community College Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence facility not only addresses a growing student population, but showcases one of the most advanced automotive shop spaces in the region.
Columbia College Chicago Campus Plan
Chicago, Illinois
Gensler transformed the look and feel of Columbia College’s campus through a new master plan, which follows the recent completion of a Student Center building.
Client Services
Across the entire learning spectrum, we develop strategies and solutions that are purposeful, engaging, effective, sustainable, and future-proof.
Strategic Services
Our interdisciplinary and integrated team of architects, planners, designers, and strategists partners with clients to develop engagement strategies, educational planning, campus planning, and education design projects. Our expertise includes academic workplace design, space analytics, brand design, and change management.
Campus Planning
We collaborate with clients and communities to develop high-quality environments that respond to the aspirations and needs of users. Our campus planning approach is guided by research and an understanding of what makes an attractive place while responding to site-specific conditions and addressing sustainability.
Programming and Pre-Design
We generate innovative solutions that affect real transformation to support our clients’ visions and long-term strategies. We gather input from stakeholders to articulate a vision, define goals, build consensus, overlay the formative qualities of the site, and measure against budgets.
Architecture
Architecture is always in service to its institution and can elevate experience. Rather than employ a particular style or off-the-shelf solution, we create designs that respond to programs that sharpen, and even recast, the longstanding purpose of a place.
Interior Design
Our interior designers work collaboratively and strategically to deliver innovation, quality, and sustainable performance across various space typologies. We specify presentations and approvals throughout the process to ensure each design satisfies and reflects our clients’ unique missions and visions.
FF&E
As the world’s largest specifier of furniture, we understand that it must serve current and future generations and be adaptable to changing functions. Our specification process is centered around defining the space to select furniture that fits both the project and overall aesthetic.
Brand Design and Environmental Graphics
We integrate graphic design, signage and wayfinding, and architectural placemaking to create spaces with meaning and purpose. Gensler’s Brand Design practice provides specialist designers, strategists, and programmers to create a seamless user experience and unified brand impression.
Sustainability
We integrate sustainable design across our projects and all facets of service offerings to reduce energy and enhance wellness, performance, and quality of life. Teaming with our engineering partners, our holistic approach to sustainability focuses on net-zero, passive strategies, efficient systems, and renewable generation.
INSIGHTS
Blog
How Strategic Partnerships Are Shaping Academic Campus Development
Facing respective challenges, institutional-private sector collaborations can offer mutually beneficial opportunities for universities to expand their reach, optimize real estate, and enhance campus vitality, while providing developers with stable, high-value investment options.
Blog
The 18-Hour Campus: Strategies for Creating Vibrant, Round-the-Clock Hubs
Here are three strategies universities are adopting to create environments where students, faculty, and communities engage throughout the day and night.
Blog
How Design Drives Innovation in Education & Science
Gensler’s European Education & Sciences leaders explore how design can accelerate progress in these converging fields.
Blog
Why Now Is the Time to Double Down on the Promise of California Community Colleges
How these essential institutions could drive local, inclusive economic recovery.
Blog
The Campus as a Catalyst: Combining Student Needs With Institutional Goals
Here are some key strategies for differentiating a university campus, improving retention, and reimagining underutilized spaces to optimize real estate.
Blog
Insights Into the Pandemic’s Impact on Student Well-Being
Our research explores how the shift out of the pandemic is impacting student relationships, motivation, and emotional well-being.
Blog
Inclusive Design for the 21st Century Library
Exploring strategies to create universally welcoming and functional libraries that cater to their communities.
Blog
Learning on the High Street: A Vision for the Future
Addressing digital inequality is vital to improving educational outcomes and influencing future innovation, economic prospects, and societal well-being.
Blog
A New Tool Helps Organizations Maximize Their Community Impact
Gensler’s Urgency Index helps institutions make informed decisions that amplify their impact by locating in the communities that need them most.
Blog
Are Educators and Campus Staff Ready for an Unassigned Workplace?
In the age of hybrid work, campuses have an opportunity to explore new approaches to workspace, specifically shared and unassigned space for staff and educators.
Blog
How Urban Design and Educational Spaces Can Combat Child Loneliness
Through thoughtful urban design, we can create inclusive, supportive environments where children can safely explore and learn outside traditional classroom settings.
Blog
What Gensler’s Education Engagement Index Reveals About the Future of Hybrid Learning
An exploration into the future of the hybrid learning experience.
Blog
A Football Academy Designed to Empower Youth in Ghana
Right to Dream’s Ghana campus is a best-in-class facility that sets a benchmark for football academies everywhere.
Blog
Three Considerations for Repurposing Stranded Assets for Education
In many instances, abandoned buildings can be converted into thriving schools when they prioritize sustainability, focus on community impact, and offer urban revitalization.
Blog
Using Design to Support Case-Based Learning in Medical Education
At the University of California Irvine, Gensler created an active learning center designed to facilitate a new style of hands-on, experiential learning.
Trends in Education
Reimagining underutilized campus buildings leads to financial and environmental success.
In the face of limited resources, evolving space needs, and aging buildings, institutions achieve their strategic goals by leaning into adaptive reuse strategies to reimagine the spaces they already have.
Higher demand for workforce preparedness drives design for interdisciplinary spaces.
More multifunctional spaces will support the type of interdisciplinary programming and preparations students need to enter the workforce. Flexible design solutions allow educators to reconfigure spaces for different needs.
Schools focus on student well-being and the spaces they need to succeed.
Campus environments that support the whole student, including spaces that facilitate academic focus, social gathering, and emotional well-being, will improve students’ sense of belonging and overall success.
EDUCATION LEADERSHIP
Deborah Shepley
Education Leader, Principal
Deborah Shepley is a Gensler Principal and Global Education Practice Area Leader based out of the firm’s Newport Beach office.
Mark Thaler
Education Leader, Principal
A global Education Leader, Principal based in Gensler's New York office, Mark Thaler is one of Gensler's experts in the design of learning environments and student spaces.
NEWS
In The Media
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CSULB
CSULB Unveiled a Major Renovation of Its University Student Union
With architecture led by Gensler, the project will transform the heart of the CSULB campus into a dynamic, student-centered space that is “carefully designed to meet the needs of the next generations of students.”
March 18, 2025
Press Release
Three Gensler Architects Elevated to AIA College of Fellows in 2025
Gensler is proud to announce that Lisa Cholmondeley, James Crispino, and Mark Thaler were elevated to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows, in recognition of their contributions to architecture and society.
February 14, 2025
In The Media
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Crain’s Chicago Business
The Ironworkers Local 63 Training Center Is “Intended To Capture the Unique Character and Attitude of the Ironworkers Local 63 Members”
The state-of-the-art glass building features a pressurized testing chamber, crane, and adaptable training space to simulate what ironworkers experience in the field.
June 25, 2024
In The Media
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The American Library Association
Western Kentucky University Commons at Helm Library Recognized As 2024 ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards Winner
Gensler’s design of the Commons at Helm Library is recognized as the 2024 ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards winner in the Outstanding Historic Renovation Project category.
June 17, 2024
In The Media
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Urbanize LA
Friendship Foundation Campus Will Provide Opportunities for All Abilities To Learn, Explore, and Find Their Place
Global Co-Chair Andy Cohen described the campus, now under construction in Redondo Beach, as “a place of learning and growth, and transformation in a safe and inclusive environment.”
May 30, 2024
In The Media
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Retrofit Magazine
Gensler Partnered With Western Kentucky University To Reimagine the Helm Library
Gensler and Western Kentucky University rethink the typical notion of a library by developing a concept that balances the relationship between social and intellectual space.
September 11, 2023
In The Media
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The Dallas Morning News
Designed by Gensler, Frisco Public Library Opens as the Sixth Largest Library in Texas
The Dallas Morning News quoted Gensler’s Justin Bashaw, who shared insights on the design vision for the new Frisco Public Library.
March 17, 2023
In The Media
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The New York Times
How Public Libraries Play an Outsize Role in Supporting Local Communities
The New York Times explored how public libraries offer services and safety, and featured Gensler’s design of the Brooklyn Heights Library.
March 10, 2023
In The Media
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Latest Finance
Key Strategies for Designing Academic Research Institutions That Stimulate Innovation
The Gensler Education Engagement Index found a correlation between inspirational spaces and engagement in academic and research environments.
February 10, 2023
In The Media
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Aoyama Design Forum
Machinaka Library, Designed by Gensler Tokyo, Was Recognized With Top International Awards for Its Interior Design
The Gensler-designed library in Toyohashi City received top honors from the International Interior Design Association and American Institute of Architects as well as Interior Design Magazine.
January 04, 2023
Recognition
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Building Design+Construction
Gensler
Building Design+Construction recognized Gensler as the #1 firm on its 2022 list of the top firms in the university sector.
August 22, 2022
In The Media
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Education Snapshots
The West Coast University Campus Provides a Connected and Energized Campus Experience
By prioritizing the student experience, Gensler transformed a commercial office building into an activated learning ecosystem.
July 19, 2022
In The Media
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The Architect's Newspaper
Brooklyn Public Library Opens Its New Gensler-Designed Brooklyn Heights Branch
The largest Brooklyn Public Library branch location features a reading room, community event space, and ample “bright, airy spaces” to browse, create, and read.
June 08, 2022
In The Media
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Architectural Products
Gensler’s Mark Thaler Discusses Designing for Student Living and Learning Communities
Gensler designed Lynn University Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall into smaller-scaled communities so that “students can belong to and connect with each other at different scales.”
October 25, 2021